Self-Care & Reinvention: Embracing Change at Every Age w/ Patricia Patton

Joy Dixon Paul: Hey there and welcome to Joyfully Black, the podcast where we redefine self care and mental wellness for Black women and women of color. I'm your host, Joy Dixon Paul, and here we will explore the strategies and stories that help you thrive, whether you're balancing careers, families or the demands of community life.

Because staying in the black isn't just about managing your finances, it's about managing your life with joy and intention.

Well, you all certainly got an update last episode. Thank you so much for all the kind words and well wishes that I received. And today I am so excited about our guests.

in because that's part of my: 2025

You know, it is always so lovely when you meet multi passionate people and really see how their journey has progressed. Because if you are a person who, let's say you find yourself a multi hyphenate doing your thing in the corporate world or a nonprofit, maybe you're an entrepreneur, maybe you are a pet parent or you have also have a business on the side, you work in a 9 to 5, you have a business, you also are a notary.

So many of us wear so many different hats and some people will see that and say like, I don't see where you fit in. And so when I meet people who can relate to that journey, who are older, who have walked that journey, it is almost like this sense of relief, like, huh, this is okay.

It is okay to be multi passionate. It is okay to have different lives Pat that we're walking on. At any rate, just was so glad that I had an opportunity to speak with this woman and I hope that you enjoyed today's episode as much as I enjoyed speaking to her.

oomer brand, which emerged in: 2018

Now, as a wellness practitioner, her goal was to address the needs of a demographic that's often spoken about but rarely spoken relative to their needs. I think a lot of folks can relate to that.

And she's also the founder of the Cannabis Business alliance, or cba, which is a membership community of historically under resourced solopreneurs and bootstrappers in the non plant touching segment of the Cannabis space.

The CBA's mission is to create opportunities and ensure equitable access in both the creation and implementation of policy. Now, if that were not enough, our guest was recently appointed as a brain trust advisor to Morehouse University Thatcher Health Leadership Institute and sits on the board, sits on several board directors, including the U.S.

council for Federal Cannabis Regulation and the board of MJH Life Sciences, is a partner organization at the Parabola center for Law and Policy and is an ally of the AKIM Alliance.

So Patricia is also the host of a podcast, me and Mary Jane, which totally mixed in based on Kannaboomer, where she speaks with cannabis industry leaders on the cannabis industry community and culture to make sense of cannabis science.

Now this changemaker also hosts retreats and leads curated slow travel groups under the ages aegis. Excuse me. Dream yourself awake. In addition, Patricia, you're like, I know people like, but this is great.

I love it. In addition, Patricia is currently studying to become a certified Pilates instructor and is also completing hours to become a master gardener in the states of New Jersey.

I am so delighted to have Patricia Patton, a fellow renaissance soul, tuning the show.

Welcome to Juggling Black, Patricia.

Patricia Patton: Oh, it's my pleasure. I'm so happy to be here to have an opportunity to chat with you. Yeah.

Joy Dixon Paul: Oh, wonderful. So Patricia, it is evident just from your bio and talking to you, you are a deeply multi passionate person and so there are so many places I want to start and I love to level set for the audience.

n, what were you doing before: 2018

What were you doing before then to lead you up to now?

: Well, let's see. From about: 2006

But it took me a while to get the courage to actually get in the water and try and figure it out. So initially I started out because I live in a beach town to I opened a beachfront business, you know, selling healthy and organic snacks, thinking since I was on the forward edge of the renaissance of my town that I might be able to get a foothold.

But I was really too early and really that was one of the things that has Sort of plagued me throughout my life. Is I. I'm an amateur futurist. Like, I like to think about the future, kind of figure out what's happening, you know, how you want to live.

Where I would be in that system, and I was just too early for it to be a success. I mean, people wanted hamburgers, outsold me all the time. There was no way for me to.

I mean, at this point in time, I would have a better chance because my town has grown and gentrified over past, I don't know, 12 years or more. But so that's where I was.

So I was basically in the space of.

I probably. That was probably the beginning of me saying I was in the wellness space. And that was probably the beginning of me starting to define what wellness meant to me, you know, because I probably had a limited understanding at the point.

At that point, I was defining it as more about physical fitness and what you eat, and that was where I was focused. But in truth, my life practice was always to live a full life.

So that meant that I don't believe in, you know, you work and then you take a vacation. Like, I always felt that all these things were a part of your ongoing life.

So that's where I was. And to cut the story short, I essentially could see that with the legalization of plant medicine, that there might be opportunities for and things that we needed to know just for our own good.

Reminded me of the way I grew up, because we made teas and grew things in gardens, and that's how my parents from the south took care of us. And this was a repeat, really.

This is a repeat, actually.

So I was looking for a place to get in, but as I went, I didn't see people like me.

Most of my cohorts are people like you.

So I want to commend you also on engaging me in this conversation, because I think there's so much to gain from intergenerational businesses, interactions, friendships, you know.

Yeah. You know, I wouldn't send my child out to be educated by somebody his own age. So, you know, I think that there's a lot to be learned and to be enjoyed with friends of all different types, you know?

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, absolutely. And it sounds like, as you were, you know, taking that leap into entrepreneurship and finding yourself really on the cutting edge before people were even ready for what you had to offer.

How does it feel now that, like, your timing is starting to align? Because so many of us, we take a leap of faith in whatever venture it is. Maybe it's taking a New job, maybe it's moving to a new city, maybe it is starting a business.

And we hope, you know, that's a soft place to land. But sometimes, as you said, sometimes you were ahead of the curve. So how does it feel now that it seems like the times are aligning with what your vision is?

Patricia Patton: It's affirming, I must say. That is affirming. I don't. You know, there is a struggle because we're in the midst of change. Culturally, there's so much going on as it relates to not just this part of the industry, but culturally, there's so much going on.

People are showing up in different ways, both good and bad.

And so I. Once again, I think it's a period of discovery for so many people, you know, because now you're thinking, I don't have to live my life this way.

I can make other choices. I. The pressure to conform is really. There's a lot of it in our society. So even if you feel free inside, you have to fight for that freedom.

You know, you have. You have to have encouragement both in your house and outside your house, in your friendships and what you read and what you feed yourself in order to grow out and grow into the fullness of who you are.

Because the pressure to conform is really. It comes from so many different places.

Joy Dixon Paul: It really does. A common theme that. That I really see as I'm speaking with you and what you're saying today is this theme around reinvention and a willingness to do so and willingness to think outside the box and step outside of the box.

Who would you say inspired this level of comfort around change? And how did you see this growing up?

Patricia Patton: I go to my mother. You know, my mother migrated from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, in the 40s.

She really didn't know where she was going. She migrated from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, to Seattle, Washington.

Joy Dixon Paul: Wow.

Patricia Patton: That's where I was born. That's where I grew up. And she was not highly educated, but she was very smart. I mean, she could think on her feet. She could. She could sort information and make conclusions, and she could think about those conclusions relative to the possibilities, what that might mean.

People I know who are well educated can't do that. But she taught me how to do that, and she encouraged me to.

What do you think?

How do you think that will work out?

What if you did X, Y and Z? But the whole question, it was always that I could come to myself, you know, you need to get to yourself and figure it out, you know, and even in my education, I was never Forced to come to conclusions in a particular way.

I could come to a conclusion.

I just had to know how I got there.

So that's, that's essentially how I was educated. Yeah. So I trust myself in a way that I don't even trust other people.

Joy Dixon Paul: You know, that's really such a gift. I mean, and I know that a woman of a certain age. So, I mean, has it always been that way for you, or was it like a turning point?

Or do you think because of how you were raised, trusting yourself just comes natural because you, your mother just equipped you with that? She was, you know, always practicing it.

Or is it something that you finally be like, oh, she knew what she was talking about. Like, what was that like for you?

Patricia Patton: Let's see. I, I actually have been a practitioner of that belief system since I was about 18 or 19, because I went into the world, went into the world then. And when I went into the world, I went into a much bigger world than the one that I had lived in, you know, so, you know, by the time I was 20, I was traveling the world, so most people that I know had not left the country.

You know, I mean, I was, I was seeing that in other cultures. People sent their kids to machu picchu at 17 years of age, you know, for an experience. We didn't do that in North America.

So I was having those kind of experiences. And, and so I was learning how to be on my own, you know, in, like, in real life rather than in my head, because I tend to be, I was a big reader, and I, you know, tended to travel with Don Quixote and, you know, you know, but I hadn't been anywhere.

But then once I started actually traveling the world, I, I was able to tap into that kind of calmness in myself, you know, so, so, so, I mean, I, I, I do give it back to her, you know, I mean, I have had experiences that people have supported, but for the most part, I didn't have a lot of guidance.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, you were trusting. You were trust. You were really trusting that the intuition and your critical thinking skills to navigate through the world.

Patricia Patton: Yeah, I really was. I mean, I, yeah, I didn't really have a lot of guidance, so I was lucky, in a sense.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I guess so. Because so many people have to really unmantle that sense of fear that sometimes their parents instill in them. And, you know, there is sometimes that fear is instilled as a form of protection.

Patricia Patton: Yes, it is.

Joy Dixon Paul: So we do have to acknowledge that. But it also sounds like the gift that you were given is, like, the freedom to think and to think about options and where the world will take you.

Patricia Patton: Yeah. I mean, there was a point where my mother freed me, really, because she said, you know, there's not more. There's nothing more I can teach you like you're teaching me now, because you're seeing the world in a different way for me.

So it was my great pleasure to be able to take her abroad and have her experience things that.

That I had talked about. Mm.

Yeah.

Joy Dixon Paul: Oh, I love that. And so this really.

Patricia Patton: I'm sorry.

Joy Dixon Paul: Go ahead, make me cry.

Oh, why?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And, you know, as you're saying that, it really. It makes me think about how you're honoring her memory when you're speaking about her, because, you know, I'm looking at you, and I'm just imagining this woman who poured this knowledge and insight so that you could be who you are today.

Patricia Patton: Yeah, it's true. She did.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah.

And, of course, as you know, you venturing out into the world at a young age, I'm sure, you know, this path has taken some winding roads, so. And you've probably run up against your.

Your fair share of challenges. How has your experience in navigating challenges impacted how you decide to show up in the world?

Patricia Patton: I've changed many times. I mean, I know how to be a Camelot. I know how to survive.

So I actually have had to move in circles and learn things like small talk. And when, you know, if you've ever been one of a few or the only, there are certain skills you have to develop in order to be authentically who you are and at the same time, quiet the air around you, you know, because.

Because your desire is to get to the other side of the room or to. To move through that space, you know?

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah.

Patricia Patton: So it's. It's. I would say that many things that I wanted were not things that people thought I necessarily should have.

And so I had to create ways to get what I wanted. I mean, dream Yourself Awake is a product of my not being able to afford museum membership at a.

That would allow me to have the experiences that I wanted.

So I knew that there. That at certain levels of membership, you get to visit private collections of art. You know, you don't have to always just go into the museum and be among the crowd.

You get to handle the art. You get to look at it closely. You get to talk to people who have actually been with the source of where that product came.

I knew that, but I didn't have $10,000 membership level to enjoy that experience. So I created it. So. So essentially that's really what I've done, is create the experiences that I want to have.

Joy Dixon Paul: Oh, that's wonderful. It makes you think about, you know, be the change you want to see in the world, and you're creating the experience that you want to make sure that you have.

And. And then you're able to share that with others as well. Because you're curating these. These experiences for other. Other women.

Patricia Patton: Yes, yes. I mean, because what is the point? I mean, once you understand what the experience is or once you. Again back to the business, once you understand what the science is, what good is it if you can't share it?

If you can't open people's minds in such a way that you're able to help them and their children, you know, so right now, as we are learning more about specifically hemp and cannabis plant.

I mean, there are other things, but since that's what's on the table, since that's what is going through the legal system, since regulations are being made about how that will take place, me coming into this arena has sort of forced me to focus in a different way so that I can figure out how to tell stories that people will listen to so they will know how to take care of themselves so that they won't go on Amazon and buy products that make no sense, you know, so.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, no, yeah, yeah. And speaking of like Candle Boomer with, With your education piece, what is a common misconception that you've. That you've encountered as you're working with older folks and being an advocate for them and educating?

Patricia Patton: Well, I mean, I think that the stigma set.

The stigmas that exist around the war on drugs are preventing people from gaining a better understanding of what might, you know, a product that might be helpful to their gut.

Biome or a product that might be helpful just as a salve or whatever? I'm not even promoting the idea of consumption so much so as I am. Open your mind and just try and understand what's on a bottle.

Don't let people sell or tell you this or that. And not only that, open your mind, because what you've been told, you were told as simply to control black and brown people.

So it's. I mean, it's too simple to say that, but you can just go into the records and hear Nixon and Ericman say the same thing.

So it's just an openness that.

It's just an openness to life and an openness to change that we all need to always sort of be aware of. Because the tendency as you age is to, you don't want trouble, you don't want to fall down, you don't want to get lost, so you're kind of closed to change or you don't even know exactly why you thought a particular something.

You just have heard it so many times you think it's true.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah. Would you say that your ability or willingness to be open and chained is one of your self care superpowers?

Patricia Patton: I probably would never have said that before, but it is because in the sense of I am not, I mean, the things that frighten me, because of course things still frighten me, you know, I mean, the idea of being very public frightened me, you know, it's like, oh my God, you know, do I really want to be that exposed?

Like what would happen if I actually went viral? You know, and suddenly you had attention from eyes that you didn't know who they were. You know, that's frightening. But at the same time, I also know that if I am unable to penetrate, you know, the consciousness that exists sort of as a dulling kind of salve, then there's not a likelihood of me being able to message this.

And it doesn't have to be me, you know, it can be other people, you know, but the point of the matter is really, let's talk to some of the people who we're talking about.

You know, I mean, you can't study me without interacting with me.

That's only one way of knowing. That's only one way of knowing is, you know, gathering data and looking at. That's just one way of knowing. But there are lots of other ways to know things.

Joy Dixon Paul: So for you, it's really another, another aspect is making sure that older people have a seat at the table and you're, because of your interests and because of your advocacy, you're, you're making sure that those folks are represented.

Patricia Patton: And a lot of that has to do with me talking to people your age.

Because your parents listen to you, they might not listen to me, but you know, because you're in the world and they think that your information is more current, you talking to them.

I vetted this person. Da da da da da da da.

They might be more likely to say, well, I don't know, my daughter said this person knows about that. I'm going to listen to this and see.

So I mean, again, that's another reason that intergenerational interactions are so important, particularly to communities of color, because that's how we transmit information. We talk.

Joy Dixon Paul: We do, we do. That's how family histories and legends and everything else are passed down. That oral tradition.

Patricia Patton: Yes.

And when the family sends somebody out and pays for graduate degrees and traveling the world and all that, there's a reason for that, you know. Yes, you're gifted, but there's a reason for that.

You know, you're part of the. You're part of the line. You're bringing information back.

Joy Dixon Paul: So true. And, you know, there's something that you touched upon a little earlier in our conversation and that was around wellness and.

And redefining what it means. And of course, it's more than physical. And I know, of course, you're training to be a Pilates instructor, but it also sounds like what. What are some other, I guess, redefining have you encountered on this journey of life that you're.

That you're really leaning into these days?

Patricia Patton: Well, I think that community is really important. I think that you have to have friendships that are meaningful. You know that. So you can have lots of friends, you can know lots of people.

But, you know, that core group that you go to, you know, I think that that's really important, and I think it's particularly important as you age because, you know, people tend to start leaving.

So then, you know, your. Your group is smaller, so it's more important that you have friendships, again, in my opinion, that cross all kind of boundaries, particularly if you are, you know, like, I'm interested in lots of things.

Like, lots of things interest me.

So it's not as though I'm trying to, you know, gather knowledge for the sake of having it. You know, I'm really trying to solve problems. You know, I really try to figure out, well, how do I actually make grass grow?

You know, what does it really need? Or what kind of container should I actually put a.

A flower so that it will have the best environment, you know, I mean, that's not so different from us either, right?

You know?

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, you're right. Like, what environment do I do I thrive best in?

Patricia Patton: Right. You know, needed 50 degrees or do you need it 68? You know, like, to walk around barefoot? So I'm going to pay for heat, right? You know, I'm going to pay for heat as long as I can.

I think also that it's important what you read, you know, I mean, I had basically lost the ability to read books because I'm online so much.

I read tons, but I have a relationship with. With books that, in my mind, are part of my identity. You know, it's part of my identity. But I found that, yes, I was buying books.

I was, you know, consuming, you know, eight to ten hours a day online, but I was not reading a book. So I had to redo that muscle. I had to make that muscle strong again so that I could have sustained reading.

Because everything is so quick now, you know, like you skim everything. You have the whole story, you know, maybe five minutes past.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, sure. Yeah, that's. That's so true. And things are so bite sized and it's like you have to catch it quickly.

Patricia Patton: You're.

Joy Dixon Paul: You'll miss the moment.

Patricia Patton: Right?

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, no, definitely, yes. I am a fellow bibliophile. And so what are you reading now?

Patricia Patton: You know what? I just finished Michelle Morris's book. Huh? Yeah, that's what I said too. It was well written. She had a co writer. But interesting book about her life. I don't know.

Did you ever read this book by Carolyn Clark who used to run bet?

Joy Dixon Paul: No, I haven't. What's the name of it? Do you know?

Patricia Patton: Do you recall the name of it at this moment? The exact. Basically, Carolyn Clark was a.

Carolyn Clark did not know her mother. She was put up for adoption, but she was adopted by Sam Cooke's wife.

Joy Dixon Paul: Oh, wow.

Patricia Patton: It's an interesting story. This book is also a story. Michelle Morrison's story is about her father who was the first black surgeon at hospital in Los Angeles. He was on the scene and took care of Robert Kennedy when he was assassinated.

And she grew up not knowing who her mother was. So she was married to Mark Muriel of New Orleans. It's an interesting story, but it was easy enough and had enough grit that I could.

I could stay in it and finish it, which is what I needed to do.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yes. So is your go to memoirs?

Patricia Patton: No, not normally. I mean, to be honest, I normally read kind of self development stuff. I read a lot.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, I get.

Patricia Patton: Yeah.

Joy Dixon Paul: Personal. What's your. What's your favorite personal development book or one that you are always recommending to people?

Patricia Patton: Well, it kind of changes because sometimes I'm like into Howard Thurman and sometimes I'm into Krista Tippett, you know, and on being. It kind of moves around.

You know, it does move around.

I don't think that. I think that people's life experiences teach them different lessons. And then you have people you can read like Kimmerer, and everything that she brings to you, she brings to you from nature.

So it's just. It's just. It's very eclectic.

Joy Dixon Paul: Listen, I'M not surprised. I am not surprised. As you, as you kind of look back and think about how you have the different experiences that you've had and navigating the world and some, and as you, as you call yourself an amateur futurist.

Although I'm just like, hey, you're on the cutting edge. Before people knew what was, they had to catch up with you, frankly. But what is, what is one piece of practical advice that you wish you knew around caring for yourself and, and how you show up in the world?

As maybe a 30 or 40 year.

Patricia Patton: Old, I would say probably as a 30 year old, probably trust myself more like actually trust myself. Like I, I was operating. There was probably a lot of, there was a fair amount of fear because I was experiencing, I mean, I was pregnant in my early 30s, so I was experiencing something brand new that only I, I had to do it myself, you know, I had figure it out, you know, so.

And then I had to figure out how to be a mother and how to be who I wanted to be, you know, because he has his life, you know, and I had mine.

So that was really, it was a challenging period for me. But I think that that whole thing lasted a long time because I wasn't really clear about being deep inside who I was.

I wanted. But that, that, that deep inside kind of knowing, you know, like you touch it sometimes, but you know, to actually settle in to it and it's kind of an acceptance as well.

It's like you have to kind of, kind of accept the fact this is who I am, I'm here in this earth form.

And now the thing is, how can I live out, how can I live into the fullness of who I am?

Joy Dixon Paul: I love that. How, how can you live into the fullness of who you are?

And you know, because, you know, it's interesting that you're, that you're saying this because I speak to, you know, folks who are parents, my guy friends and my female friends and it's often it sounds like there's a disconnect, you know, as they're navigating through parenthood and figuring out who are they in relation to being a parent.

Do you think it was time that just helped you come to this conclusion? Or was it, or were there other factors that helped you sort of get into this, this knowing and acceptance?

Patricia Patton: Probably, I mean, truthfully, there's probably a combination of both. But you know, I think when you are growing and you're internally fighting yourself about I want to be, I'm a writer, I'm a this, you know, and you're trying to figure out how can you be all those things?

You know, how can you, how can you be all those things? Because life makes you think that you have to make a choice, you know, and sometimes you cannot be everything at one time, but you can be the things that you dream of.

I mean, you wouldn't be thinking about the idea. An idea. As my yoga teacher said this morning, an idea comes from the spirit world, you know, so once it's, you know, it's the spirit talking, when you have an oh, I have an idea, or you pop your fingers because the thing came to you so clearly, you know, then you have to bring it into this realm.

You know, you have to move the idea past the idea stage. And so that's what I spent a lot of time trying to figure out in my 30s. I didn't, I didn't know exactly how to do it.

And I made excuses like I need money, you know, or if someone gives me this, or if I get this opportunity. And none of those things are reasons to keep you from living into your ideas.

Think that they are, you know, because obviously you're not ready to move into it.

Joy Dixon Paul: Yeah, it's definitely things I think people have to ponder. And it's also, to me, this sense of sometimes relinquishing what the, what the identity is and knowing that it could change depending on what phase you're in.

Patricia Patton: Yes, but that's what's beautiful about life. I mean, that, that is what's beautiful about life is that you're under no obligation to be something that people recognize every time they see you.

I mean, you're under no obligation. I mean, like, it's your life. So, you know, you can be forward presenting however you choose. And if they are interested and you have the time, you can explain it if they're interested or you can just coexist.

There's no reason that you have to. I mean, okay, I'm saying this, but yes, if you're in the straight world and you have a job and you're doing X, Y and Z, then you have to figure out how to do that and how to be yourself too.

Joy Dixon Paul: Straight world, as in mainstream.

Patricia Patton: Yes. Where people need rules, they need, you know, rules of engagement, you know, you. There's a different idea about how community interacts, say in a work environment. There's also, you know, a hierarchy.

You have to honor the rules. You have to read the room. I mean, it's that simple. You have to read the room.

You know, you can't just assume I'm who I am, and therefore, if you're.

Joy Dixon Paul: Choosing to engage in that. But of course, in other environments, there's more flexibility, depending, you know, I'm. How you can or decide to show up.

Patricia Patton: Right, right.

Joy Dixon Paul: Well, there is one question I'd ask all of my guests, and it's this quote that I absolutely love from Jean Boleyn. And the quote is, when you discover something that nourishes your soul and brings you joy, care enough about yourself that you make room for it in your life.

So I have to ask you, Patricia, what nourishes your soul so much that you absolutely create space for it?

Patricia Patton: Love.

Yeah, I think love, you know, And I had an opportunity to be reminded of that with my grandchildren. That reminder also morphs over into other parts of my life. So the way I spend my time, I need to love what I'm doing, you know, so being an entrepreneur, for example, to go back to that, Being an entrepreneur is something that I wanted to do since I was, like, 20.

And I have my own idea about what a successful entrepreneur is. You know, like, anybody can create something, you know, if you're creative at all. But how do you turn that thing into a success, you know, and.

And of course, you get to define success. And in my case, it would be that I can create work for other people, you know, where I could. I could pay other people to move this idea along because I believe in it.

I believe it will bring joy to other people. So. So, yeah, I think love is a thing that kind of moves through, you know?

Joy Dixon Paul: Mm.

Patricia Patton: So.

Joy Dixon Paul: So love to you looks like it's kind of manifested through your grandchildren, through doing the things you. Different passions that you have and. And ideas. That's what it looks like.

Patricia Patton: Yeah, it looks like that. It looks like, you know, being with people who spark joy in me, ideas that are meaningful to someone beyond just me.

So, yes, I think that the ability to generate that, to spark that, to bring a light to someone else's eyes, all of these things are the things that I. That bring me joy.

Joy Dixon Paul: That's beautiful. Well, you certainly created a spot for me today, Patricia. And so, before we end today's show, how can folks stay in touch with you?

Patricia Patton: Well, I suppose the easiest way would be to just use my name, which is Patricia A. Patton. Patricia A. Patton.com is one way to get to me. And also within that space, you can get to where the Me and Mary Jane podcasts are located.

You can also find me as Kana Boomer on the Instagram Platform or dream yourself awake on the Instagram platform. And lastly, the business, the Cannabis Business alliance, which I would love to encourage your listeners to think about.

You know, there are so many opportunities in the hemp and cannabis space that have nothing to do with growing, extracting or retailing this plant. But there are ways for you to transfer what you already do.

What, you know, some interests you may have to an industry that is really going to shift and change really where the money's coming from economically.

Joy Dixon Paul: Oh, wow, that's amazing. So you're saying, like, if someone is a graphic design artist or whatever skill they have, they can just apply it to the cannabis industry?

Patricia Patton: Yeah, I mean, think about it. I mean, brands are selling things. You need people to package things. You need architects to, to design spaces where these buildings are going to be.

You know, you need point of service operators to track the money. You need compliance people to manage the, the laws and regulations. You know, you need accountants, you know, who understand the laws that are different from on the state level and from state to state as well as on the federal level.

You know, you need event people, you know, you need chefs, you need, you know, you need the. Everything you need in other industries, you need in this industry. So do not be thrown off by the fact that there is not an ability to say, take two and you'll be fine.

I mean, medicine is changing, you know, so you really have to take responsibility for your own health and be an active participant in it. And this is just part of that process.

Joy Dixon Paul: Well, that is so great. Well, I'm definitely going to link all of those, all of your social media and website information to the show notes so people can reach out to you and get connected.

Yeah, I think I remember when I first ran across Canada Boomer, and I thought, wow, this is very fascinating. So all these years later, I'm so glad I was able to have you on the show.

Patricia Patton: Yeah, I appreciate you and the invitation, I really do, because it would be great to be able to have small group discussions with women around the country where folks get asked questions, you know, where people, you know, because I get people who call me and they go, my mother is going through, she has early stage dementia.

What do you, what should I do? Who should I call? That kind of thing. So maybe it's not something as serious as that. Maybe it's like, I can't sleep at night, you know, what do you know, what have you heard?

And while I'm not a doctor, I know doctors.

And the other thing is that I can just turn you on to the research.

Joy Dixon Paul: Absolutely. And sometimes that all people need, they just need a resource to go to.

Patricia Patton: Yes.

Joy Dixon Paul: Because you, you know, you know where to if you don't know the answer, you know where to go to get the answer.

Patricia Patton: Right.

Joy Dixon Paul: Exactly. Exactly. Well, thank you so much again, Patricia, for joining us and look forward to talking, talking to you again.

Patricia Patton: All right. Thank you, Joy.

Joy Dixon Paul: Thank you again for joining me on this episode of Joyfully Black where staying in the black is about more than managing your finances. It's about your life. If you enjoyed today's episode, please be sure to subscribe, share with a friend and leave a five star review.

And let's keep the connection going by joining, joining our community on Instagram at Joyfully Black. That's at Joyfully Blk. Until next time, let's stay in the black, y'all.